


Chloe’s Question

by Clarx



Category: Life Is Strange, Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/F, Fluff, Plans For The Future, Post-Canon, Tiny one shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28427523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clarx/pseuds/Clarx
Summary: Chloe can’t tell Max, at least not yet. She needs to ask a question if she’s going to do the right thing and move forward.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Ryan Caulfield/Vanessa Caulfield
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	Chloe’s Question

Max doesn’t know I’m here. She can’t know; at least not yet. I’m like a badass punk ninja on a mission to change the fucking world. Well, to change my fucking world… OUR world. Nothing will ever be the same after this, but I guess nothing’s been the same for a while anyway, and as stealthy as this mission must be, it’s only one piece to the puzzle. An important damn piece.

I mean, the end result was bound to happen at some point, maybe. I just… I dunno. I wanna do shit right from now on. I spent so much time fucking things up that I hafta get it right now. Can’t afford getting this part wrong. If not for myself, I gotta do it for her. She deserves it and it’s my duty even if there’s a chance she’s not ready. Goddamn does she deserve this. She’s owed the entire universe, and I’ll spend the rest of our lives working my ass off to give her everything she’s ever wanted.

It’s funny; not ‘ha ha’ funny, but like, weird and shit. We lived here for a year after leaving Arcadia Bay, or what was left of it, and this place began to feel like home. Though, it took me too long to realize my home wasn’t a place with four walls and a roof. SHE is my home. Max Caulfield is where I belong. All I want is to make her smile and lay in bed, eyes floating on her beautiful skin tracing her wondrous star field of endless freckles across the blue and to the ends of the world. Just thinking about her soft lips grazing against mine makes me miss her taste even though I’ve only been away for a couple of hours. My mind fixates on thoughts of her body shrinking into mine as we lay cuddled together in a pile of heartfelt contentment. I’m getting goopy as fuck. Sheesh!

Ryan seemed taken aback yesterday when I called and asked to speak with him and Mrs. C without Max around. It’s not like I actually bonded much with her parents when we stayed here. Our feelings for their daughter are totally different, and we clashed on several occasions, but the deep concern we share for the girl’s well being is very similar. She was broken for months, and together, we pushed past the pain and burdened weight of unfair responsibility that loomed over us. We’ve both dealt with more than our fair share of grief, but she was lost for months after everything that happened.

You’d think I would’ve grown comfortable around the Caulfields, living under the same roof and all, but I never really did. That first year, everything happened so fast. From the moment me and Max reconnected to the moment we got our own place a couple of months back, we’d gone through a whirlwind of shit. Some things we had to get past were fucking terrible. Like her blaming herself for every damn shitty thing that has ever happened in the world. Other things, like the realization that we are in love with each other, were beautiful and totally amazeballs. I guess they sorta help balance each other out, and the good is so much sweeter because of the bad.

At this point, I know I’m procrastinating and they can see I’ve been sitting in their driveway for the past thirty minutes. They’re gazing through the blinds watching as I sit here swimming inside my own head. I grip the key that’s still securely dangling from the ignition and twist to the off position. I guess I’ve sat here long enough and know it’s time to go inside and face what’s to come.

As I shut the truck door behind me, I notice the house door crack open and see Vanessa appear in the darkened entryway. She steps out and onto the front porch with her arms folded in front of her body. Beginning my approach, I realize Ryan is standing in the shadows behind his wife, gawking in my direction. Neither seem to be too happy to see me, but I doubt they actually know why I’m here.

“Ryan, Mrs. C!” I raise my eyebrows and reveal a toothy grin as I make my ascent up the stairs towards the entrance of the house. I don’t know any other way than to be dramatic and overly emphasize my expressions. I realize my hands are out in front of my torso with both sets of pointer and thumb in the ‘finger gun’ pose. You’re such a damn dork, Price!

“Come on in, Chloe,” Vanessa says unamused as she steps behind me and places her palm on the small of my back, leading me through the doorway and into their living room. I see Max’s dad sorta scanning me up and down, and I can’t blame him. He’s no doubt used to me wearing old, musty tees and whatever I could find laying around. Max never seemed to mind and, no offense to him, her approval is all I need in that regard. This evening is special, however, and I’ve dressed up a little bit for the occasion. Not a lot, of course, can’t ruin my street cred, but I want to do this shit right. When Max hears about what happened here, she’ll know I put in a damn good effort regardless of the outcome. I’m wearing the same boots and suspenders I’ve had for years, but now, I’m wearing a nice pearl-colored button-down dress shirt and the suspenders are over the outside being worn properly, not loosely hanging down past my hips as per usual. I’ve even fixed my hair in a bit of a French twist. I know… who am I and what have I done with Chloe Price? HA!

“So,” Ryan begins as the three of us are taking a seat; both of them on the overstuffed couch, me on the smaller loveseat, “I think I know why you wanted to speak with us without our daughter present. Let me be clear, the answer is ‘no.’ I don’t want to lose her. She still needs the support of her parents.” My heart sinks and my mouth goes arid like I suddenly started chewing on a dry sponge. Typically, I’d respond with anger at a moment like this but I can’t. Not now. Fear is the main emotion welling within me and I don’t totally know how to feel.

“Ryan, we talked about this. You said you’d be cordial about it. I don’t think Chloe was…”

Before Vanessa could continue, she was abruptly cut off. “I know what I said, but there’s no reason to beat around the bush. I don’t want her taking our little Max away from us.”

“I’m confused,” I admit. “I’m not trying to take her away from you. I love her, Ryan, and she loves me.”

“We love her too, Chloe. We loved her before you even knew who she was. The moment she opened her eyes for the first time, we loved her with all of our hearts. If you want our blessing to move away from us, you won’t get it. In fact, I forbid you two to leave Seattle. After all she’s been through… she… she’s not ready. Moving her into an apartment across town was bad enough. But I cannot allow you to leave the state. You have to understand.”

My worry falls away and I can’t stop from cackling. The incredulously puzzled looks on the two adults’ faces across from me are priceless. “THAT’S what you think this is about? HA! Ryan, I don’t want to move her away from you. I want to MARRY her, dum dum.” I reach down towards the square-shaped bulge in my pocket and retrieve the box Max’s ring is snugly located inside. When I flip the container open, the dim light from the ceiling fan fixture sparkles off the center diamond. My heart is thundering through my chest and I can hear every deafening beat deep inside my ears.

“We don’t have much money but they let me finance the damn thing. With my new job at the service shop, I can afford the payment. Yeah, we’ll barely scrape by and all but as long as we’re together we could live in a shack our entire lives and I’d be happy.” Suddenly, and without warning, Vanessa’s arms are wrapped around me nearly sending us over backwards on the loveseat. I struggle to stay upright as gravity and her weight work in opposition to my resistance. Ryan is standing now and observing the spectacle between his wife and myself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man smile, besides in pictures, but a half-smirk is forming on his face.

“Chloe, I’m so sorry.” Ryan confesses. “I didn’t mean to come at you. I read a Tweet you sent about New York and how excited you two were. Guess I just figured that’s what this was all about. Max means so much to us, we couldn’t stand being that far away. At least not yet.” Vanessa releases her grip and uses her sweater cuff to blot moisture from her cheek. Then she centers herself enough to stand and steps back to embrace her husband in a sort of side hug.

“Oh,” I respond with full clarity, “no. We sent some of Max’s photographs to a gallery in New York and they seemed interested, that’s all. It’s pretty damn cool.”

“Chloe, I need to tell you something,” the bearded man begins. “A couple of years ago, I didn’t really understand same sex couples. It just seemed like a man and a woman were meant to be together. Period.” Ryan drops his arm from around his wife’s waist and approaches me with a look on his face I haven’t seen before; it almost seems like one of compassion and a newfound realization. “But I see you two, and I have no doubt that you belong together. When I first saw you kiss after you moved in, I wasn’t sure what the hell to think.”

He pauses then places one hand on my outer shoulder. “Chloe, you are obnoxious, loud, irritating, you smoke, you drink, and you usually dress like a brat. But it doesn’t take a genius to see how happy you make our Max. I’ve noticed how protective and caring you are of her, and I see that she makes you happy too. As long as you don’t move too far away from us, you have my blessing.”

Ryan pulls me in for a hug and I flinch at first. Him showing any semblance of affection towards me is rare as hell. Finally, I give in and feel his large arms tenderly squeeze me into his chest. To my surprise, it feels nice, so I let my guard down and sink in. It doesn’t last long, and the man lets me go then cranes down to kiss me on the cheek. “You’re like my daughter too, Chloe. Especially now. I’ve always sort of dreaded getting to the point where we would have to give Max away for marriage. But with you, I know she’ll be in very good hands.”

The married couple steps back and puts one arm around each other, staring in my direction with gentle grins on their faces. A thick silence cuts the room in half; one half them, one half me. I don’t know what to say but it doesn’t matter. This ninja has successfully completed her badass mission. As tough as this has been, the next piece is the part that matters most.

“So,” I finally say breaking through the quiet that seems to have set in, “I’d like to ask her tonight; over dinner. Super traditional and shit… uh, crap.” I shrug and force a fake smile knowing I’d already received the blessings of my future in-laws. Ryan made it clear they aren’t thrilled about how I conduct myself at times, but they accept me and my love for their daughter; potty mouth and all. And, yeah, I do love her. So goddamn much. She means everything to me. I hope they can see that. “Would you like to be there when I do it? I mean, you don’t have to, but I think being surrounded by her family would make it even more special.”

“Of course we’ll be there, Chloe,” Vanessa bubbles, clearly appreciative of my consideration. “Thank you for including us. It means a lot.”

“Yep,” Max’s father adds. “It also confirms just how much you love her. I know you’re not very comfortable around us and you could have just asked her without us knowing. But you’re doing the right thing. This is a big indication that you’re maturing into a thoughtful, caring adult. We’re very proud of you, Chloe.”

I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear a father figure say those words, but for some reason, Ryan confessing his pride in me sends a tear trailing down my cheek; followed by another. Maybe his words are the trigger point, but I suspect that the raw emotion from knowing I’m a step closer to spending the rest of my life with my favorite person is really the culprit here.

Distracting myself from my emotions, I go through a makeshift checklist in my mind.

Part one: purchase the ring. Check.

Part two: ask the parentals for their blessings. Fucking check!

Part three: propose. TONIGHT!

I’ll pop the question in a specific restaurant that’ll be very meaningful to Max. A couple of months after we left our destroyed hometown, I took her out to eat. It was the first time I saw her smile and heard her beautiful laughter in a long damn time. I’m not sure if you can ever truly define a point in time where you start to really heal after the grieving process has taken control, but it was in this restaurant where I could finally see the love of my life’s soul dancing around again. It had been caged up and tucked away for so long, I didn’t know if she’d ever fully return to me. But that night, Max peeked through and her soul came out to play. Fuck, I’d missed her so much!

“Just tell us a place and time and we’ll be there,” Mrs. C spoke, pulling me out of my own head. “So she has no idea?”

“Nope. Not a fucki… uh, er… not a clue. I’m pretty sure she thinks we’ll one day just sign some papers at a courthouse or whatever, but I know she’s always wanted a real wedding. I could care less about that kinda thing, ya know? She deserves to experience her dreams. I realize I already have your approval, but I want you to understand… I have two goals in my life now, and those are to keep her safe at all times and to always make her happy.”

We spend the next several minutes detailing plans for later that evening, then we exchange another round of hugs and say our goodbyes. As soon as I get in the truck, I reach for my cell phone and hit speed dial number 1. After two rings, my soon-to-be fiancée answers and my heart skips a beat hearing her soft, soothing voice.

“Hey, babe! How was your meeting?”

“Yo, Maxi Max! It went well. So, I was thinking… let’s go out for dinner tonight. You know, get dressed up and shit. You cool with that?”

“Dressed up? You mean like pirates?” Max giggles and I can’t help but smile. It’s like a permanent grin has been glued to my face and I don’t want it removed.

“You’re such a dork, Caulfield.”

“Yeah, and you keep me around. Guess that means you’re one too. The company I keep.”

“No way! I’m a badass bitch who just happens to have fallen in love with a super dorky nerd face.”

We share laughter and talk all the way back to the apartment. When we hang up, I sit in the parking lot for a few minutes and fidget with my pocket, dragging my index and middle fingers over the cubed bulge. I slide my palm along the edges and poke at its corners. As I lose myself in pleasant thoughts of my future bride and our life together, I try to consider the past. Everything that has happened has lead us to one another and specifically to tonight. The past seems so far in our rearview now and all that exists is our future. But here, in the present, I have a beautifully freckled angel waiting for me inside and I can’t wait to take her to dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> This little story was calling my name so I had to stop what I was doing to get it out. I hope you enjoy!


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